ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Families of Nasiriyah’s Zeitoun Massacre deserve true justice and accountability, Human Rights Watch (HRW) told The New Region, adding that recently released Omar Nizar and his force used live ammunitions against protestors despite direct orders against it.

“Former Prime Minister Adil Abd Al-Mahdi had ordered security forces to stop using live ammunition against protestors over a month before the massacre, yet security forces, led by Omar Nizar, did so anyways on Zeitoun bridge, resulting in the killing and injuring of protestors,” HRW’s Iraq Researcher Sarah Sanbar told The New Region.

“HRW has documented multiple instances of excessive use of force throughout the Tishreen protests, and to date, we have seen very little accountability for abuses against protestors,” she added.

Thousands took to the streets of Iraq in 2019, a movement that later became commonly known as Tishreen (October) protests, demanding the removal of then Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.

Protestors in Nasiriyah, one of the hottest spots of the months long protest movement, had blocked the city’s Zeitoun Bridge when Nizar and his team arrived at the scene. 

After failing to disperse the protestors, Nizar’s team opened fire. It is unclear if they had an order to shoot, but then again, a lack of order had not stopped anyone from targeting protestors earlier during the movement.

Around 50 people fell casualty and over 300 were reported wounded in what later came to be known as the Zeitoun massacre.

Nizar was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in June 2023, however, an appeal court last week released him citing “insufficient evidence”, a move condemned by survivors of the massacre and families of the victims.

“The massacre on Zeitoun bridge was one of the deadliest episodes of the Tishreen protest, and the victims deserve true justice and accountability,” Sanbar said.